Systems and methods for dynamic processing of objects

ABSTRACT

A method of processing objects is disclosed using a programmable motion device. The method includes the steps of acquiring an object from a plurality of mixed objects at an input area, perceiving identifying indicia in connection with the object, assigning an intermediate station to a destination location for the object responsive to the identifying indicia in connection with the object, and moving the acquired object toward the intermediate station.

PRIORITY

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/367,793, filed Dec. 2, 2016, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/263,050, filed Dec. 4, 2015,as well as U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/265,181 filedDec. 9, 2015, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

The invention generally relates to automated sortation and otherprocessing systems, and relates in certain embodiments to roboticsystems for sorting objects (e.g., parcels, packages, articles etc.).

Current distribution center sorting systems, for example, generallyassume an inflexible sequence of operations whereby a disorganizedstream of input objects is first singulated by human workers into asingle stream of isolated objects presented one at a time to a humanworker with a scanner that identifies the object. The objects are thenloaded onto a conveyor, and the conveyor then transports the objects tothe desired destination, which may be a bin, a chute, a bag or adestination conveyor.

In typical parcel sortation systems, human workers typically retrieveparcels in an arrival order, and sort each parcel or object into acollection bin based on a given heuristic. For instance, all objects oflike type might go to a collection bin, or all objects in a singlecustomer order, or all objects destined for the same shippingdestination, etc. The human workers are required to receive objects andto move each to their assigned collection bin. If the number ofdifferent types of input (received) objects is large, a large number ofcollection bins is required.

Such a system has inherent inefficiencies as well as inflexibilitiessince the desired goal is to match incoming objects to assignedcollection bins. Such systems may require a large number of collectionbins (and therefore a large amount of physical space, large capitalcosts, and large operating costs) in part, because sorting all objectsin unison is not always most efficient.

Current state of the art sortation systems rely on human labor. Mostsolutions rely on a worker that is performing sortation, by scanning anobject from an induction area (chute, table, etc.) and placing theobject in a staging location, or collection bin. When a bin is full orthe controlling software system decides that it needs to be emptied,another worker empties the bin into a bag, box, or other container, andsends that container on to the next processing step. Such a system haslimits on throughput (i.e., how fast can human workers sort to or emptybins in this fashion) and on number of diverts (i.e., for a given binsize, only so many bins may be arranged to be within efficient reach ofhuman workers).

Partially automated means of solving this problem are lacking in keyareas. Such approaches typically involve tilt-tray or bomb-bay stylerecirculating conveyors. These conveyors have discrete trays that can beloaded with an object. The trays and objects then pass through scantunnels that scan the object and associate it with the tray in which itis riding; when the tray passes the correct bin, a trigger mechanismcauses the tray to dump the object into the bin. A drawback of suchsystems is that every divert requires an actuator, which increases themechanical complexity and the cost per divert can be very high. Forapplications requiring hundreds of diverts, the large cost of such asystem does not achieve a good return on investment.

An alternative is to use human labor to increase the number of diverts,or collection bins, available in the system. This decreases systeminstallation costs, but increases the operating costs. Manual sortationcells are staffed by a team of workers, which avoids the large cost perdivert. Multiple cells can then work in parallel, effectivelymultiplying throughput linearly while keeping the number of expensiveautomated diverts at a minimum (equal to the number of parallelsortation cells, not the total number of system bins needed). Thisapproach involves objects for sortation being supplied to each cell,which can be done manually but is easily done via means of a conveyorwith sweep arms or other dumb diverts to each work cell. Such diverts donot identify an object and cannot divert it to a particular spot; ratherthey work with beam breaks or other simple sensors to seek to make surethat indiscriminate bunches of objects get diverted to each cell. Thelower cost of the unsophisticated diverts coupled with the low number ofdiverts keeps the overall system divert cost low.

Unfortunately however, these systems don't address the limitations tototal number of system bins. The system is simply diverting an equalshare of the total objects to each parallel manual cell. Each parallelsortation cell must therefore have all the same collection binsdesignations; otherwise an object might be delivered to a cell that doesnot have a bin to which that object is mapped. There remains a need fora more efficient and more cost effective object sortation system thatsorts objects into appropriate collection bins, yet is more efficient inoperation.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an embodiment, the invention provides a method ofprocessing objects using a programmable motion device. The methodincludes the steps of acquiring an object from a plurality of mixedobjects at an input area, perceiving identifying indicia in connectionwith the object, assigning an intermediate station to a destinationlocation for the object responsive to the identifying indicia inconnection with the object, and moving the acquired object toward theintermediate station.

In accordance with another embodiment, the invention provides an objectprocessing system that includes at least one programmable motion devicefor acquiring an object to be processed from an input station, and aprocessor for dynamically assigning an intermediate location for theobject, the intermediate location being dynamically associated with adestination location.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the invention provides a methodof processing objects that includes the steps of acquiring an object tobe sorted from an input station, identifying the object to determineindicia associated with the object, assigning an intermediate station tothe object responsive to the indicia, and moving the object using afirst automated carriage toward the intermediate station, wherein theintermediate station is associated with a destination location.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description may be further understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a system in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention including input and outputconveyors;

FIG. 2 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a system in accordancewith another embodiment of the present invention including a circulatinginput conveyor;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a system in accordancewith a further embodiment of the present invention including multipleinput conveyors and multiple output conveyors;

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a perception systemfor use in connection with the system of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of an object assignmentrelationship in a conventional sortation system;

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of an object assignmentrelationship in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of an object assignmentsystem of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 8A-8I show illustrative diagrammatic views of object assignmentsteps in system in accordance with certain embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative flowchart of a process in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of an object processingsystem in accordance with a further embodiment of the present inventionincluding a large number of sorting stations as well as an automatedinput via a cleated conveyor;

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a portion of a systemin accordance with a further embodiment of the present inventioninvolving individual input bins;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a portion of a systemin accordance with a further embodiment of the present inventioninvolving input bins provided on an input conveyor;

FIG. 13 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a portion of a systemin accordance with a further embodiment of the present inventioninvolving output carriages provided on an output track;

FIG. 14 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a portion of a systemin accordance with a further embodiment of the present inventioninvolving bagging objects at the sortation stations;

FIG. 15 shows an illustrative flowchart of an overall method ofproviding dynamic processing of objects;

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a system inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention thatincludes shuttle wing sortation stations;

FIG. 17 shows an illustrative diagrammatic front isometric view of theperception system of the system of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 shows an illustrative diagrammatic back view of the perceptionsystem of the system of FIG. 16;

FIGS. 19A-19C show illustrative diagrammatic views of carriage movementin a shuttle wing sortation station of FIG. 16 without the guide wallsfor clarity;

FIG. 20 shows an enlarged view of a shuttle wing sortation station ofFIG. 16;

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a system inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention thatincludes four shuttle wing sortation stations; and

FIG. 22 shows an illustrative diagrammatic view of a system inaccordance with a further embodiment of the present invention thatincludes eight shuttle wing sortation stations.

The drawings are shown for illustrative purposes only.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In accordance with various embodiments, the invention provides aninherently more flexible object sortation system in which objects may beselected in a most advantageous order, and the sortation of thoseobjects may take advantage of dynamically varying correspondence betweenthe sorter outputs and the ultimate object destinations.

Applicants have discovered that when automating sortation of objects,there are certain objectives to consider: 1) the overall systemthroughput (parcels sorted per hour), 2) the number of diverts (i.e.,number of discrete locations to which an object may be routed), 3) thetotal area of sortation system (square feet), and 4) the annual costs torun the system (man-hours, electrical costs, cost of disposablecomponents).

Systems and methods of the present invention are well suited toapplications in current sortation systems that receive objects in adisorganized stream and are required to sort the objects into sortedstreams. Such systems recognize that reading information on an objectmay sometimes be challenging; once an object is scanned therefore, it isimportant to keep the information associated with the object. Theacquisition of objects from disorganized jumbles is also challenging,and once an object is acquired, it is important to keep the objectseparated from other objects. Further, conventional transport andconveying systems have limited flexibility, typically following a singletrack that passes every possible destination.

In accordance with certain embodiments, the invention provides systemsand methods that upend basic assumptions of current sortation systems,with improvements in each of the challenges identified above. Thesystems, in some embodiments, provide improved scanning and perceptionsystems, and reduce the challenge of scanning an object, and further, byperceiving the entire object's shape and disposition, reduces oreliminates the need to keep the object separate from others. Thesystems, in certain embodiments, provide improved end effectors, and theuse of robotic manipulators to improve the reliability and economy ofacquiring objects, even when in a jumble with other objects, reducingthe need to maintain separation of objects. The systems, in furtherembodiments, provide improved transport and conveyor systems, andprovide programmable robotic manipulators in particular, that allowdynamically changing patterns of object handling, with resultingefficiencies in the sortation process, lower space requirements, lowerdemand for manual operations, and as a consequence, lower capital andoperating costs for the entire system.

FIG. 1, for example, shows a system 10 in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention that includes a first sorting station 12 and asecond sorting station 14 that are each fed by a common input conveyor16. An output conveyor 18 carries output bins 50 to downstreamprocessing stations. The first sorting station 12 includes programmablemotion device, e.g., a robotic system, 20 as well as collection bins 22,24, 26 and 28. The second sorting station 14 includes a programmablemotion device, e.g., robotic system, 30 as well as collection bins 32,34, 36 and 38. The first sorting station 12 may also include a stack ofadditional collection bins 40 and the second sorting station may includea stack of additional collection bins 42. A central controller 44communicates with the robotic systems 20 and 30 to provide inputregarding the assignment of objects to a bin as discussed in more detailbelow. Perception units 46 and 47 (e.g., cameras or scanners) may beemployed to provide the sorting stations 12, 14 with identificationinformation (idicia data) regarding objects 48, 49 that are beingprovided on the input conveyor 16.

During use, each sorting station 12, 14 may either select an object andthen identify the selected object by a detection device on thearticulated arm (e.g., in a system as shown in FIG. 3 discussed below),or may first identify an object prior to selection (e.g., using scanners46, 47), and then grasp the identified object. For each object grasped,the system will place the object in an assigned destination station if adestination station has been assigned to the object. For each new objectgrasped, the system assigns a new bin to the object if a new bin isavailable. Otherwise the object is returned to the input conveyor 16.What is significant, is that the sorting station is not pre-assigned alarge set of collection bins assigned to all possible objects that mayappear in the input path.

Further, the central controller may employ a wide variety of heuristicsthat may further shape the process of dynamically assigning objects tocollection bins as discussed in more detail below. Once bins are eitherfilled or otherwise completed, the completed bins (e.g., 50) are placedonto the destination conveyor 18 as shown, where they are then routed toone or more next processing stations. The system 10 may include anynumber of sorting stations, and the central controller 44 may manage theassignment of destination stations (e.g., bins) to provide an efficientassignment of objects to destination stations. If any objects cannot besorted by the time that they reach an end of the input conveyor 16, theobjects may fall into a non-identified object bin 52 so that they mayeither be scanned and placed by a human worker, or replaced back intothe input path in the event that a destination station simply was notassigned for the object.

In accordance with another embodiment, and with reference to FIG. 2, asystem 60 of the invention may include an input loop conveyor 62 onwhich objects 64 are provided that pass by multiple sorting stations, aswell as an output conveyor 64 on which full or otherwise completed bins66 may be placed by any of a robotic system or other programmable motionsystem at a sorting station. Similar to the system 10 of FIG. 1, thesystem 60 may also include a central controller 68 that communicateswith robotic systems 70 and 80, as well as perception units (e.g., 63)to provide input regarding the assignment of objects to a bin asdiscussed in more detail below. The robotic system 70 provides objectsto bins 72, 74, 76 and 78, and the robotic system 80 provides objects tobin 82, 84, 86 and 88. The robotic system 70 may select new bins fromthe stack of bins 90 and the robotic system 80 may select new bins fromthe stack of bins 92. Again, the assignment of bins to objects is drivenby the objects selected by the robotic systems (as may be directed by orbased on input from the control system 68).

The invention provides, therefore, examples of sortation and otherdistribution systems that involve moving infeed objects directly to abuffer, without human intervention. The buffer holds the objects,possibly in a disorganized jumble, where they may be accessed by one ofseveral sorters. One example would involve a circulating conveyor (asshown in FIG. 2), with integrated perception. The perception system mayread labels when they are visible, but may also use more general machinevision algorithms to identify object class and shape, and to trackobjects as they are circulated. The sorters acquire objects from thebuffer. If needed, they use their own perception systems to read labelsnot previously read. They may move objects to any of several outputs,including the possibility of placing an object back on the buffer,either for later handling or for handling by a different sorter.

In accordance with a further embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a system 100 ofthe invention may include a plurality of input conveyors 93, 94 on whichinput objects 134, 136 to be sorted are provided. The sorted objects maybe provided (e.g., in completed bins 97, 102) on one of a plurality ofoutput conveyors 96, 98. As discussed above, the system may also includea central controller 104 that communicates with perception units 106 and108, as well as with robotic systems 110 and 120 to provide inputregarding the assignment of objects to a bin as discussed in more detailbelow. With further reference to FIG. 4, each perception unit mayinclude lights 105 and cameras 107, and the robotic system (e.g., 110,120) may be used to hold one object at time in the associated perceptionunit (106, 108) so that the system may identify the held object. Similarto the system discussed above, the robotic system 110 provides objectsto bins 112, 114, 116 and 118, and the robotic system 120 providesobjects to bin 122, 124, 126 and 128. The robotic system 110 may selectnew bins from the stack of bins 130 and the robotic system 120 mayselect new bins from the stack of bins 132. Again, the assignment ofobjects to collection bins is driven by the objects selected by therobotic systems (as may be directed by or based on input from thecontrol system 104). In accordance with further embodiments, the inputbuffer may also include designated input areas at the sorting stationsinto which human workers may also provide objects to be sorted. Therobotic systems 110 and 120 of FIG. 3 may include perception units overthe conveyors as discussed above, and/or perception units 111 and 121mounted on the robotics that facilitate the selection and grasping ofobjects from the input conveyors 93 and 94.

A switch may also be used in certain embodiments that correlates sorteroutputs with collection bins in a dynamic manner. For example, a systemmay involve the collection of objects to be bagged by a human worker whothen puts them on a conveyor toward a truck-loading area, but with adynamically generated label indicating the desired destination.

In a sortation system, the relationship between objects and theirintended destinations are known, and may be provided, in a manifest. Forexample, an object bearing a label addressed to Boston, Mass., will beassociated with the destination of Boston, Mass. With reference to FIG.5, this fixed relationship between an object 140 and a destination 142is a fixed relationship. In conventional sortation systems, anintermediate container 144 is assigned a fixed relationship with thedestination, and this relationship dictates the assignment of the object140 to the intermediate container 144. This is shown in FIG. 7, whereeach destination 164, 166, 1687, 170, 172 is associated with anintermediate container 154, 156, 158, 160, 162. As objects 152 areprocessed, they are simply routed to the appropriate intermediatecontainers as directed by the fixed relationship.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention on the otherhand, the relationships between intermediate containers and destinationsis not fixed, and changes dynamically during sortation. FIG. 6, forexample, shows that while the relationship between an object 146 and itsdestination 148 is fixed, the assignment of an intermediate container150 (e.g., a collection bin), is dynamically chosen based on a varietyof heuristics. Once assigned, it remains in place until the collectionbin is emptied. As shown in FIG. 6, the assignment of a collection bin(intermediate container 150) for an object 146 is determined by theobject destination and the intermediate container to destinationmapping, and the destination mapping (between the intermediate container150 and the destination 148) is re-assigned dynamically duringoperation.

With reference to FIG. 8A, at the beginning of a sortation process,there may be no assigned relationships between intermediate containers176, 178, 180, 182, 184 and objects 174, or between intermediatecontainers 176, 178, 180, 182, 184 and destinations 186, 188, 190, 192,194. As shown in FIG. 8B, when an object's indicia is detected, anintermediate container 176 is assigned to the object, and the object'sdestination 188 is assigned to the intermediate container as well.Additional objects that are processed and are also associated with thedestination 188 are also provided in intermediate container 176. Withreference to FIG. 8C, when a different object's indicia is detected thatis associated with a different destination 192, a new intermediatecontainer 178 is assigned to the object, and the object's destination192 is assigned to the intermediate container as well. As noted above,when an object is selected that is associated with a destination, e.g.,188, that already has an intermediate container 176 associated with it,the object may be placed in the same intermediate container 176. Inaccordance with certain embodiments of the invention however, and withreference to FIG. 8E, the system may elect to assign a new intermediatecontainer 180 to the destination 188, for example, if it is known thatmany of the objects are likely to be associated with the destination188. With reference to FIG. 8F, when another object's indicia isdetected that is associated with another destination 186, an newintermediate container 184 is assigned to the object, and the object'sdestination 186 is assigned to the intermediate container 184.

When an intermediate container becomes full or is determined to beotherwise ready for further processing (e.g., if the system determinesthat it is unlikely to see another object associated with thedestination), the intermediate container is emptied and the contents areforwarded for further processing. For example, and with reference toFIG. 8F, when the system determines that intermediate container 176 isfull, the contents are emptied, and the intermediate container 176 isthen again unassigned to a destination as shown in FIG. 8H. Theintermediate container 176 may then later be reused and associated witha new destination 190 as shown in FIG. 8I.

As shown in FIG. 9, a sortation process of the invention at a sortingstation may begin (step 200) and the articulated arm, or another objectreception device, receives a new object (step 202). The systemidentifies the new object (step 204) by any of an overhead scanner, or ascanner system, or by a drop scanner as discussed herein, etc. Thesystem then determines whether any location at the station has yet beenassigned to the new object (step 206). If so, the system then places theobject at that location (step 218). If not, the system then determineswhether a next location is available (Step 208). If not, the system may(either with or without input from a human) determine whether to retryidentifying the object (step 210). If so, then the system would returnthe object to the input stream (step 212) to be again received at alater time (step 202). If not, the system would place the object in amanual sorting area for sortation by a human (step 214). If a nextlocation is available (step 208), the system then assigns a nextlocation to the object (step 216), and the object is then placed in thatlocation (step 218). If a location had already been assigned to theobject (step 206), the system the object is placed in that location(step 218). The number of objects at the location is then updated (step220), and if the location is then full (step 222), the system identifiesthat the location is ready for further processing (step 226). If not,the system then determines whether (based on prior knowledge and/orheuristics), whether the location is likely to receive a further object(step 224). If so, the system identifies that the location is ready forfurther processing (step 226). If not, the system returns to receiving anew object (step 202). The further processing may, for example includecollecting the items at the location in a single bag for transport to ashipping location.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, andwith reference to FIG. 10, a system 230 includes multiple sortingstations 240, each of which includes a robot system 242, a perceptionunit 244, a plurality of destination locations (e.g., bins) 246, and astack of additional bins 248 that may be used as bins 246 are moved oridentified as being ready for further processing. In particular, inputobjects 236 are provided in an input hopper 232, and a cleated conveyor234 draws the objects 236 up onto an input conveyor 238. Once on theconveyor 238, each of the robot systems 242 selects certain objects fromthe conveyor, again using any of perception units above the inputconveyor (such as perception units 46, 47 and 63 of FIGS. 1 and 2), orperception units 111 and 121 of FIG. 3 that are mounted on the robotsthemselves, which facilitate the selection and grasping of the objects.Once any bins are full or otherwise considered to be completed, the bins250 are loaded onto an output conveyor 252 for further processing, wherethe system knows the identity of each bin 252 as well as its contents asassigned by the central processor 256.

In accordance with further embodiments, the input to each sortingstation 12 may be provided in a movable hopper 260 that may bepositioned by a human worker near to the robotic system 20 as shown inFIG. 11. The sorting system 12 of FIG. 11 may use a perception system262 to identify objects (as well as any of perception units 46, 47, 63,111, 121 discussed above), may fill bins 22, 24, 26, 28 with objects,and may provide filled or otherwise completed bins 264 onto the outputconveyor 266. In accordance with a further embodiment, the input to eachsorting station 12 may be provided in a hopper 268 that is one of aplurality of hoppers 268, 270 that are provided on an input conveyor 272near to the robotic system 20 as shown in FIG. 8. The sorting system 12of FIG. 12 may use a perception system 274 to identify objects (as wellas any of perception units 46, 47, 63, 111, 121 discussed above), mayfill bins 22, 24, 26, 28 with objects, and may provide filled orotherwise completed bins 276 onto the output conveyor 278.

In accordance with a further embodiment, the input to each sortingstation 12 may be provided by an input conveyor as discussed above withreference to FIG. 1, that is provided on an input conveyor 280 near tothe robotic system 20 as shown in FIG. 13. The sorting system 12 of FIG.13 may use a perception system 282 to identify objects (as well as anyof perception units 46, 47, 63, 111, 121 discussed above), may fill bins22, 24, 26, 28 with objects, and may provide filled or otherwisecompleted bins 24 onto an output carriage 284 that is mounted on anoutput track 286. In accordance with a further embodiment, the input toeach sorting station 12 may be provided by an input conveyor asdiscussed above with reference to FIG. 1, that is provided on an inputconveyor 288 near to the robotic system 20 as shown in FIG. 14. Thesorting system 12 of FIG. 14 may use a perception system 290 to identifyobjects (as well as any of perception units 46, 47, 63, 111, 121discussed above), may fill bins 22, 24, 26, 28 with objects, and mayprovide filled or otherwise completed bins 26 to a bagging station forbagging by human workers to provide sets of sorted objects in bags 292for further processing by human workers.

A process of the overall control system is shown, for example, in FIG.15. The overall control system may begin (step 300) by permitting a newcollection bin at each station to be assigned to a group of objectsbased on overall system parameters (step 302) as discussed in moredetail below. The system then identifies assigned bins correlated withobjects at each station (step 304), and updates the number of objects ateach bin at each station (step 306). The system then determines thatwhen a bin is either full or the system expects that the associatedsorting station is unlikely to see another object associated with thebin, the associated sorting station robotic system will then place thecompleted bin onto an output conveyor, or signal a human worker to comeand empty the bin (step 308), and then return to step 302.

Systems of various embodiments provide numerous advantages because ofthe inherent dynamic flexibility. The flexible correspondence betweensorter outputs and destinations provides that there may be fewer sorteroutputs than destinations, so the entire system may require less space.The flexible correspondence between sorter outputs and destinations alsoprovides that the system may choose the most efficient order in which tohandle objects, in a way that varies with the particular mix of objectsand downstream demand. The system is also easily scalable, by addingsorters, and more robust since the failure of a single sorter might behandled dynamically without even stopping the system. It should bepossible for sorters to exercise discretion in the order of objects,favoring objects that need to be handled quickly, or favoring objectsfor which the given sorter may have a specialized gripper.

In accordance with certain embodiments, therefore, the system provides asortation system that employs a buffer at the infeed stage enablingscalable and flexible induction of objects into the system. The buffermay include a single conveyor, a circulating conveyor or multipleconveyors, possibly to separate disorganized objects from organizedobjects. In further embodiments, the invention provides a sortationsystem employing a plurality of sorters flexibly connected to bothupstream and downstream processes. The system may also employ a flexibledestination stage, including a process for dynamically changing thecorrespondence of sorter outputs and system destinations using a switchbased on heuristics from the sortation process. The system maydynamically map sorter outputs to system destinations based on long-termhistorical usage trends and statistics, or items already processed, orcurrent contents of other dynamically allocated sorter outputs, oraverage, minimum or maximum time-to-sort associated with each sorteroutput, or physical characteristics of the items sorted, or a prioriinformation, or known future deliveries, or location within a facility,including the physical location relative to other allocated sorteroutputs (e.g., above, beside, on or nearby), or incoming shipments, aswell as knowing what items are currently upstream of the sortationprocess and combinations of the above. Further, systems of embodimentsof the invention provide that information regarding correspondencebetween sorter outputs to system destinations may be provided to anautomated system for sorting.

By making use of heuristics, the mapping of sorter outputs to systemdestinations can be improved substantially over traditional fixedallocation. Destinations may be assigned on the fly, reducing wastedspace from unused sorter outputs and decreasing the time it takes toprocess incoming objects. Long-term historic trends may be used toallocate sorter outputs when the next incoming group of objects iseither in-part or entirely unknown. Historical usage patterns provideinsight into when objects bound for certain destinations can be expectedto arrive, the number of objects bound for each destination expected forany given time, and the probable physical properties of these incomingobjects.

In addition to trends pertaining to incoming objects, historical trendsprovide information on the speed at which objects can be sorted intooutputs, and the rate at which outputs are transferred to systemdestinations. These factors allow sorter outputs to be allocatedprobabilistically until a deterministic understanding of incomingobjects is achieved.

In addition to historic trends, an understanding of the current state ofthe system is used to ensure that there is an appropriate amount ofspace allocated for those objects that are expected to arrive. Whencombined with the knowledge of those objects that have already beensorted, the correspondence of sorter outputs to system destinations cantypically be allocated deterministically. A knowledge of those objectsalready processed and the contents of current sorter outputs allows thesystem to optionally remap the sorter outputs once they have beenemptied of their contents. In the case that there aren't enough sorteroutputs, this knowledge also allows the system to specify which sorteroutputs should be emptied such that they can quickly be reallocated tonew system destinations.

A further consideration when dynamically allocating sorter outputs is totake into account the physical characteristics of the packages and thefacility. If a certain destination is expected to receive larger,unwieldy objects, then an appropriately-sized sorter output can beallocated. If a particular system destination will require more than asingle sorter output, then two adjacent outputs can be allocated withthe same destination in order to facilitate human intervention.

A method is also presented for displaying the sorter output—systemdestination correspondence information next to the destinations. Thisallows human workers interacting with the system to understand how andwhen to properly empty the destinations. In addition, critical toautonomous sortation is the ability to send these destinationallocations to a sortation system without human intervention. Thisallows for the construction of fully-streamlined sortation systemsoftware.

In accordance with further embodiments, systems of the invention mayemploy carriages that shuttle back and forth along shuttle directions.Such systems may rely on a pre-sortation step, where an object is sortedfirst to the correct sortation cell, and once there it is sorted intothe proper collection bin. In this fashion, different cells can havedifferent collection bin mappings, allowing the total number of systembins to be multiplied by the number of parallel cells operating. Suchpre-sortation steps however, must be either complicated and expensiveautomated systems, or must rely on yet more human work; either way addscost which raises the overall cost per divert of the system tounacceptably high levels.

In accordance with a further embodiment therefore, the inventionprovides a new approach to object sortation that yields a large (andvery flexible) number of total collection bins, very low divert costsper bin, throughput as high as that of a manual system, and a farsmaller need for manual labor to operate.

FIG. 16, for example, shows a system 310 that includes an articulatedarm 312 with an end effector 314, an input area 316 in which objects arepresented for sortation, a primary camera 318 for identifying objects tobe sorted, and a receiving conveyor 320 for receiving objects to besorted from any of a human worker, another conveyor, or an input pan.The system also includes a non-sortable output chute 322 that leads to anon-sortable output bin 324 for providing objects that the system eithercould not identify or could not sort for any other reason (e.g., couldnot grasp or pick up).

In addition to the primary camera 318, the system also includes a dropcamera unit 326, which includes an open top (340 as shown in FIGS. 17and 18) and an open bottom (358 as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14) of thestructure 338, and a plurality of cameras (344 as shown in FIGS. 17 and18) positioned within the unit 326 that are aimed at the top, mid andlower central regions of the interior of the unit 326. In particular,and as further shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the plurality of cameras 344take images of an object when it is dropped by the end effector throughthe unit 326. The unit 326 also includes a plurality of sets of lights342 that may become illuminated when certain of the cameras areactivated, and the unit 326 may also include one or more sensors (e.g.,laser sensors) at the top of the unit 216 that detect when an object isdropped into the unit 216 (as well as optional sensors to detect whenthe object has left the unit). The plurality of cameras 344 are designedto collect a plurality of images of each object from multiple views toaid in identifying or confirming the identity of the dropped object.Mounting hardware including rings 352 on brackets 354 may alsofacilitate the positioning of the unit 326 in the robotic environment.

With reference again to FIG. 16, an object dropped through theperception unit 326 then falls into a first carriage 328 that isprovided on a track 330 on which the carriage 328 may be reciprocallymoved automatically between a first sortation stage 332 and a secondsortation stage 334 on either side of the area in which the object wasdropped. At each of the first sortation stage 232 and the secondsortation stage 324, the content of the carriage 328 may be dropped intoa further carriage 338 of either of two shuttle wing sorter sections336. At each of the shuttle wing sorter sections 336, the carriage 338reciprocally moves along a track 340 between sortation bins 342 that mayoptionally include associated side walls 344. As further shown in FIGS.19A-19C, the carriage may move an object to be adjacent a designatedsortation bin 342 (FIG. 19B), and may then be actuated to dump theobject 346 from the carriage 338 onto the assigned destination bin (FIG.19C). The movement of each carriage 328 and 338 (as well as the tippingof each carriage) may be effected by electrical power or pneumatics invarious embodiments.

FIG. 20 shows a shuttle wing sorter section 336 that includes thecarriage 338 on the track 338 between destination bins 342 within walls344. As further shown in FIG. 20, the collection bins may be removed inpairs by sliding an associated drawer 346 that contains a pair of thecollection bins (358, 360) in a direction transverse to the movement ofthe carriage 338. The drawer 346 may also include lights 362 thatindicate whether either of the contained bins, e.g., 358, 360) is fullor otherwise ready for further processing, e.g., by placing into a bag.A hand-held scanner/printer 364 may also be provided so that codedadhesive-backed labels 366 may be provided directly to a bag thatcontains the processed objects.

The system of FIG. 16 shows a system with two shuttle wings sections336. When an object is picked from the infeed conveyor, it is droppedonto the first shuttle sorter 328. That shuttle sorter carries theobject to one of two wings, drops the object in the carrier for thatwing, and then moves back to home. Due to the limited travel, this backand forth operation may be performed in the time it takes thearticulated arm to pick another object (assuming the articulated arm ispicking objects at approximately a human rate of throughput).

The shuttle sort wing therefore includes an object carriage on amotorized linear slide that travels above a double row of bins. Thecarriage is loaded with an object and then moves down the wing along thelinear slide until it has reached the collection bin where the objectbelongs; it then uses rotational actuation to eject the object to oneside or the other, where it falls into one of the two cubbies at thatlocation. The carrier then returns to the home position to await anotherobject.

In the concept as shown, each wing is limited to 8 collection bins long,for 16 total collection bins per wing. The length of collection binstraveled by the linear carriage should be balanced with other throughputfactors in the system. Given achievable speeds for belt driven linearactuators, distances, and picking speed of the articulated arm, thislength of 8 collection bins is a reasonable length that does notadversely limit system throughput (i.e., the articulated arm does nothave to wait for a wing shuttle sorter to return to home before pickinganother object). At this 8×2 or 16 collection bin count, each wing has adivert cost in the hundreds of dollars, as opposed to the thousands ofdollars, per intelligent divert for currently fielded solutions, asdiscussed above.

Systems in the prior art also do not use back and forth style sortationbecause the shuttle can only handle one item at a time, and the shuttleneeds to return to its home position after each sort. In accordance withcertain embodiments of the present invention, this concern is alleviatedin three ways: 1) multiple wings are used in parallel, 2) frequentdestinations are assigned to collection bins closer to the shuttle'shome position, thereby reducing the average cycle time of the shuttle,and 3) mapping of objects to collection bins is dynamic and under thecontrol of the system as discussed above.

FIG. 21 shows a system 400 in accordance with a further embodiment ofthe present invention that includes an articulated arm 402 with an endeffector 404, an input area 406 in which objects are presented forsortation, a primary camera 308 for identifying objects to be sorted,and a receiving conveyor 410 for receiving objects to be sorted from anyof a human worker, another conveyor, or an input pan. The system alsoincludes a non-sortable output chute 412 that leads to a non-sortableoutput bin 414 for providing objects that the system either could notidentify or could not sort of any other reason (e.g., could not grasp orpick up).

The system also includes a drop camera unit 416, which includes an opentop and an open bottom, as well as a plurality of cameras positionedwithin the unit 416 that are aimed at the top, mid and lower centralregions of the interior of the unit 416 as discussed above withreference to FIGS. 16-20. The dropped object then falls into a firstcarriage 418 that is provided on a track 420 on which the carriage 418may be moved automatically between a first sortation stage 422, a secondsorting station 424, a third sorting station 426 and a fourth sortingstation 428. The first sortation station 422 includes a second carriage338 that may receive objects from the first carriage 418, and whichtravels along a track 340 between two rows of collection bins 432. Thesecond sortation station 324 (as well as each of the stations 326 and328) each includes a carriage 338 that may receive objects from thefirst carriage 418, and which travels along a track 340 between two rowsof collection bins 336. Again, the collection bins may be removed inpairs by sliding a pair of the collection bins in a direction transverseto the movement of the associated carriage as discussed above withreference to FIG. 20.

The system 400 therefore includes 64 total collection bins. This systemmay be further scaled to add more collection bins. The first shuttlesorter (that transfers objects from the picking robot to the wings) mayalso be lengthened to accommodate 4 shuttle sort wings before systemthroughput is adversely affected. In particular, the system may befurther expanded by again doubling the number of wings. This requiresthe addition of another shuttle sorter that takes the object from thepicking robot and delivers it to one of the 4 wing systems. This keepsthe shuttle sort back and forth travel time from adversely effectingoverall system throughput.

Such a system is shown here in FIG. 22. In particular, FIG. 22 shows asystem 500 that includes two independent articulated arms 552 having anend effector 554 in an input area 506, a primary carriage 520 on a track522, as well as eight sortation stations 524, 526, 528, 530, 532. 564,536 and 538. In each of these sortation stations, a carriage 338 is ableto travel along its track 340 so as to access bins 342 as discussedabove. The carriage 520 may be permitted to travel in a direction farenough to reach both the input conveyor 534 as well as the non-sortableoutput chute 512, which provides that the system may elect to send anobject in the first carriage to either the input conveyor to bere-processed, or to the non-sortable output chute if the object is notsortable.

The systems 400 and 500 also provides, in each embodiment, dynamiccollection bin allocation as discussed above. In typical human mannedsystems, collection bins are statically associated (to destinations,next stop facilities, customers, etc.) and don't change frequently; thisis so that efficiency benefits, may be gained by humans learning theassociation and cubby locations. In the systems of the invention, nosuch constraints exist, since the system is placing all of the objectsin collection bins, and it always has comprehensive knowledge of whichobjects are in the system, which are in each bin, etc. The system alsohas knowledge of all historical sortation activity, meaning thathistorical trends can be used to make even smarter choices aboutcollection bin allocation.

In the simplest example, and with reference again to the two wing systemshown in FIG. 10, if the historical data suggests that two of thecollection bins in this system get the most objects in each sort cycle,then the system will allocate one of these bins to the first wing, andone to the second, thus ensuring that all the high volume bins are noton one wing creating a bottleneck. The system may also allocate binsclose to the beginning of the wing, thereby ensuring minimum cycle timesfor the busiest collection bins. Lastly, if the system needs an emptybin, it can signal to a human operator to come and empty a given bin,allowing that bin to be used as soon as it is emptied. These strategiesensure that the cycle time of the shuttle sort wings does not impactoverall system throughput.

Finally, the system may also allocate and group objects so as tomaximize any other arbitrary cost function. Such a sortation system istypically a small part of a large system, usually extending acrossmultiple facilities around the state, country, or world. As a part ofsuch a large network, the performance of this system inevitably hasimpacts on costs elsewhere in the network. By understanding theseimpacts, the system presented herein may allocate objects to collectionbins in order to minimize cost impact elsewhere in the macro network.

In this system concept, additional articulated arms (robots) may also beadded to each of the concepts to scale throughput for the system.Typically, the number of robots R must be less than or equal to HALF ofthe number of wings W for the wing shuttle cycle time to not be thelimiter to system throughput. Below this number of robots, throughputscales linearly. By adding robots and shuttle sort wings, and tuningshuttle sorter speeds and robot picking/scanning speeds, a wide range ofoverall system throughputs and cubby counts are possible using the samebasic architecture.

For further scaling eight wings fed by one pick/scan station is thepractical maximum. To scale max bins and max throughput beyond this,multiple of these stations can be parallelized and fed by manual orautomated means, just as manual sort cells are fed in concepts discussedin the prior art. This allows for continued linear scaling ofthroughput, as well as for greater numbers of collection bins, since thesystem can now dynamically allocate between all the bins in all thewings in all of the parallel cells.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous modifications andvariations may be made to the above disclosed embodiments withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of processing objects using aprogrammable motion device, said method comprising: providing aplurality of intermediate containers, each of which is unassigned to anydestination; acquiring with the programmable motion device an acquiredobject from a plurality of mixed objects at an input area; perceivingwith a perception system first identifying indicia in connection withthe acquired object; assigning, using a computer processing system,assigment data representative of a first intermediate container amongthe plurality of intermediate containers to a first destination for theacquired object responsive to the first identifying indicia inconnection with the acquired object; moving the acquired object to thefirst intermediate container responsive to the assignment data;acquiring with the programmable motion device a next object from theplurality of mixed objects at the input area; perceiving with theperception system second identifying indicia in connection with the nextobject; assigning, using the computer processing system, a secondintermediate container among the plurality of intermediate containers toa second destination for the next object responsive to the secondidentifying indicia in connection with the next object when the firstdestination is different than the second destination; and moving thenext object to one of the first destination and the second destination.2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further includesdynamically assigning additional intermediate containers to additionaldestinations for additional objects responsive to identifying indicia inconnection with each of the additional objects.
 3. The method as claimedin claim 1, wherein said method further includes changing a status of anintermediate container to finished when the intermediate container isfull.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said method furtherincludes generating a signal to empty the first intermediate containerbefore the container is full and identifying the emptied firstintermediate container as available for re-assignment, by the computerprocessing system, when the number of objects expected to arriveindicates that the first intermediate container is not expected toreceive another object bound for the first destination currentlyassigned to the first intermediate container within a given time.
 5. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein said method further includesassigning the second intermediate container to the destination location.6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each intermediate containeris not assigned to a destination until an object is processed thatbecomes associated with the destination.
 7. The method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said input area includes a circulating conveyor thatinterfaces with the programmable motion device.
 8. The method as claimedin claim 1, wherein said input area includes a designated space intowhich a human worker may place objects to be sorted.
 9. The method asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said input area includes a plurality ofinput cleated conveyors.
 10. The method as claimed in claim 1, whereinassigning the first intermediate container among the plurality ofintermediate containers to the first destination is based on long-termhistorical usage trends and statistics.
 11. The method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein assigning the first intermediate container among theplurality of intermediate containers to the first destination is basedon future delivery requirements or sortation processes.
 12. The methodas claimed in claim 1, wherein assigning the first intermediatecontainer among the plurality of intermediate containers to the firstdestination is based on perception data regarding objects that areupstream of the input area.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein assigning the first intermediate container among the pluralityof intermediate containers to the first destination is based on dataregarding objects that have already been processed and each assigned toa specific one of the plurality of intermediate containers.
 14. Themethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein assigning the first intermediatecontainer among the plurality of intermediate containers to the firstdestination is based on objects currently being sorted by a plurality ofprogrammable motion devices.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 1,wherein assigning the first intermediate container among the pluralityof intermediate containers to the first destination is based ontime-to-sort information.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 1, whereinassigning the first intermediate container among the plurality ofintermediate containers to the first destination is based on physicalcharacteristics of objects to be sorted.
 17. The method as claimed inclaim 1, wherein assigning the first intermediate container among theplurality of intermediate containers to the first destination is basedon information regarding locations within a facility at which objectsmay be processed.
 18. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidmethod further includes using the programmable motion device to acquirea new intermediate container to replace another intermediate container.19. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said programmable motiondevice includes a robotic system.
 20. The method as claimed in claim 19,wherein said robotic system receives objects via a single input conveyorthat passes a plurality of robotic systems.
 21. The method as claimed inclaim 19, wherein acquiring the object includes using an end effector ofthe robotic system to select and grasp the object from the plurality ofmixed objects.
 22. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said methodfurther includes moving an intermediate container containing objectstoward a dynamically assigned destination using an automated routingconveyor.
 23. The method as claimed in claim 22, wherein said automatedrouting conveyor passes near each of a plurality of programmable motiondevices.
 24. An object processing system comprising: at least oneprogrammable motion device for acquiring an acquired object to beprocessed from an input station; a perception system, wherein the atleast one programmable motion device presents the object to theperception system for perceiving identifying indicia on the acquiredobject; a plurality of intermediate containers, each of which isinitially unassigned to any destination; a computer processing systemfor generating assignment data regarding an assigned intermediatecontainer among the plurality of intermediate containers regarding adestination for the acquired object responsive to the identifyingindicia in connection with the acquired object, said computer processingsystem including a non-transitory machine-readable medium for storingthe assignment data regarding the assigned intermediate container; andan automated transport system for moving the acquired object to theassigned intermediate container.
 25. The object processing system asclaimed in claim 24, wherein the automated carriage includes areciprocating carriage.
 26. The object processing system as claimed inclaim 24, wherein said reciprocating carriage travels between two setsof intermediate containers.
 27. The object processing system as claimedin claim 24, wherein said input station includes an input cleatedconveyor on which objects are provided to be sorted.
 28. The objectprocessing system as claimed in claim 24, wherein said input stationincludes a primary scanner system for identifying indicia relating to aplurality of objects.
 29. The object processing system as claimed inclaim 24, wherein said reciprocating carriage is able to dump anycontents of the carriage in a direction transverse to a direction ofmovement of the reciprocating carriage.
 30. The object processing systemas claimed in claim 24, wherein said object processing system includesat least two programmable motion devices, and each programmable motiondevice includes a robotic system.
 31. The object processing system asclaimed in claim 24, wherein said reciprocating carriage travels betweena first sortation station and a second sortation station.
 32. The objectprocessing system as claimed in claim 31, wherein said first sortationsystem includes a first automated carriage that is able to dump anycontents therein in a direction transverse to a direction of movement ofthe first automated carriage, and wherein said second sortation systemincludes a second automated carriage that is able to dump any contentstherein in a direction transverse to a direction of movement of thesecond automated carriage.
 33. The object processing system as claimedin claim 24, wherein said input station includes an output chute forproviding a further acquired object for which the perception system isnot able to perceive identifying indicia.
 34. The object processingsystem as claimed in claim 33, wherein said reciprocating carriage isfurther movable to the output chute such that the further acquiredobject may be moved to the output chute by the first automated carriage.35. The object processing system as claimed in claim 24, wherein saidinput station includes a second scanner system that includes multiplescanners.
 36. The object processing system as claimed in claim 35,wherein said multiple scanners of said second scanning system arepositioned to scan the acquired object as it is falling.
 37. A method ofprocessing objects, said method comprising: providing a plurality ofintermediate containers, each of which is unassigned to any destination;acquiring an object to be sorted from an input station; identifying theacquired object by determined indicia associated with the acquiredobject; identifying, using a computer processing system, an assigneddestination for the acquired object; determining, using the computerprocessing system, a number of objects expected to arrive at the inputstation within a given time bound for the assigned destination;assigning, using the computer processing system, assignment datarepresentative of an assigned intermediate container to the acquiredobject responsive to the number of objects expected to arrive at theinput station within the given time bound for the assigned destination;storing the assignment data in a non-transitory machine-readable medium;and moving the object to the assigned intermediate container.
 38. Themethod as claimed in claim 37, wherein identifying the acquired objectincludes scanning the acquired object with a plurality of cameras as theacquired object is falling.
 39. The method as claimed in claim 37,wherein said method further includes generating a signal to empty theassigned intermediate container before the assigned intermediatecontainer is full and identifying the emptied intermediate container asavailable for re-assignment, by the computer processing system, when thenumber of objects expected to arrive indicates that the intermediatecontainer is not expected to receive another object bound for thedestination currently assigned to the intermediate container within thegiven time.
 40. The method as claimed in claim 37, wherein moving theacquired object to the assigned intermediate container includes movingthe acquired object using an automated carriage along a track to theassigned intermediate container.
 41. The method as claimed in claim 40,wherein the track runs between a first sortation station and a secondsortation station.